Dry vapor generator



May 24, 1938 A. H. B-RoBERT's DRY VAPOR GENERATOR Filed Nov. 9. 1935 Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates generally to a device for producing and blending curative dry vapors of certain vegetable or mineral matter with the vapor of medicinal liquids which may be administered to a patient, either internally by inhalation or externally, depending upon circumstances and the constituents employed, and appertains specifically to structural details constituting additions or improvements in the means of my Patent No. 1,282,372, granted October 22, 1918.

The object of my patent above noted of providing a means for the creation of a curative vapor by the destructive distillation of vegetable Or mineral matter purified for inhalation alone or supplemented in a blend by gas formed by the agitation of medicinal liquids is also an important object of the present invention.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a series of receptacles in which medicaments may be deposited, embodying means to direct variable quantities of vapor through each or any of the receptacles, and permitting a multiplicity of blends of the vapors thus individually generated.

Still another object is the provision of a feed receptacle for each medicator, having a manually-operable valve to regulate refilling of the medicators while the device is in operation.

The present invention is further distinguished from my said prior patent by providing, in combination', means for removably associating the receptacles in operative relationship to facilitate cleaning and assembly, comprising a supporting structure to which said receptacles may be secured, having valve-controlled conduits incorporated therein, thus permitting maximum efficiency and economy.

Other objects and corresponding advantages, such, for instance, as durability of construction, facility of operation, and compactness, will be apparent to those of skill in this art upon an examination of the following drawing, in which- Fig. l is a perspective view of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on lines 2 2 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 on lines 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of my invention as shown in Fig. l with the top cover off;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View illustrating diagram` matically the relative position of the various components and the direction of the flow of vapor therethrough;

Fig. 6 is a plan view on lines 6 5 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which like numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views, I0 designates a circular base and II a compartment conforming to the contour of the base Ill and supported above said base by a pair of columns I2 and I3; The

distance that compartment II is spaced above 'f base I0 is determined by the length of a series of receptacles, preferably glass, suspended from compartment II above the base, as will be hereinafter more in detail described.

A top plate I5 is secured to compartment II by screws ES or the like, which provides a roof for passages formed within said compartment. A hole Il in top plate I5 opens into a chamber I8 in compartment I I, said chamber being formed by walls integral with the floor of said compartment and roofed by plate I5. A furnace comprising a container I9 having an opening 20 in its bottom is adapted to seat in hole I'I. Vegetable or mineral matter, designated by the numeral 2|, is adapted to be burned in the furnace to create medicinal vapors which are then drawn through opening 20 into chamber I8.

A circular boss 22 internally threaded at 23 is formed integrally with the underside of the floor of compartment II into which a receptacle 24, for a liquid purifier 25, having an externally threaded mouth, is removably screwed. A tubular valv-e 26, having a knob 21 at its upper end for manual rotation, extends through holes in top plate I5 and a wall of compartment II, into the receptacle 24, opening preferably below the surface of the wash 25. An aperture 28 in valvular tube 25 in the horizontal plane of chamber I8, may be brought into alignment with a hole 29 in the wall of said chamber to permit vapor, drawn through opening 20 by a centrifugal blower hereinafter described, to enter receptacle 24. Another hole 30 through the floor of the compartment connects the interior of the receptacle with a second chamber 3| therein. Vapor passing from chamber I8 into chamber 3| through the purifier of receptacle 24 is thus relieved of impurities. A pair of baffles 32 and 33 in chamber 3 I, formed integrally with the wall of said chamber, causes the vapor from receptacle 24 to be thoroughly mixed and tends to further purify the same.

Column I2 is hollow and is divided in its center by a partition 34 extending all but a short distance from its bottom. The two divisions 35 and 36 of the interior of the column thus formed are lled with a purifier through which the vapor entering division 35 through its communication with chamber 3l, may be further purified.

As above generally noted, a blower, comprising a centrifugal fan 31, located in the center of compartment I I and communicated with division 36 by means of a conduit 38 formed in a raised portion of the top plate I5, provides the suction necessary to draw air through furnace I9 and the portion of the device just above described. Motive power for the fan 31 is provided by means of an electric motor 39, secured to the underside of compartment I I and adapted vto rotate shaft 40 on which fan 31 is mounted.

A rheostat 4I, secured to the floor of the compartment and controlled by a knob 62 on top plate I5 in any manner well known in the art, facilitates the regulation of speed of fan 31.

'Ihe second hollow column I3 is divided by partition 43 so as to form divisions 415 and 45 connected at their bottom by a hole 6 through the partition in the same manner as is column I2, and is likewise filled with a purifying element well known in the art for cleansing the vapor. The exhaust of the blower is `directed through a chamber 41 into division 44 of the column, from which it passes into division 45 through the hole 116.`

The cleansed vapor is blown from the purifier in column I3 into a curved manifold passage 48. Adjacent manifold 48 are a plurality of vertical tubular valve housings '39 (four being illustrated, though any number may be incorporated in specific embodiments). Valve tubes 50 each extend from above plate I5 through said housings 69 and the floor of the compartment II into a respective medicator 5I, releasably .suspended from a series of circular bosses 52 integral with compartment II, in the manner described above with respect to receptacle 24. Holes 53 through tubes 50 correspond in size and horizontal alignment with holes 54 in each valve housing. Knobs 55 on the upper end of the valve tubes 56 facilitate individual manual rotation of the valves to align holes 53 and 54 which connect each medicator with manifold 48.

To facilitate refilling of the medicators while the device is in operation, a drip feed device is provided for each medicator comprising the following: Each valve tube 5I) incloses a smaller tube 56 which extends from slightly below the lower end of tube 50 upwardly through and above knob 55. At the upper end of tube 56 a receptacle 51 is supported in which a supply of the medicament contained in the medicator therebelow may be stored and fed into the medicator through the latter tube. A needle valve 58, of any form well known in the art, is shown operatively supported in the receptacle 51, to close the bore of tube 56, by means of a web 59 secured integrally with the edge of the receptacle. If it is desired to employ my invention without the drip feed device, it may be easily removed without affecting the operation, and a plug (not shown) inserted into the bore through knob 55.

Vents 6I) through the floor of the compartment connect each medicator 5I with an individual passage 6I within the compartment II. A rnxing jar 62 located between the medicators 5I is threaded to a boss 63 integral with the bottom of the compartment. Each of passages 6I separately extends over said mixing jar 62, and each is connected therewith by a separate hole 64 through the floor of the compartment.

A heating element comprising a resistance coil 65 is provided in jar 62 supported at each end to insulators (not shown) mounted in the licor of compartment II and connected by wires 66 to a rheostat 61 secured to the underside of compartment I I by screws or the like. The actuation of rheostat 61 is controlled by knob 68 on top plate I5 by means obvious to all of skill in this art.

69 indicates an exit pipe (Figs. 1 and 3) from mixing jar 62 extending through the inclosure and top plate I5, which is adaptedfor connection with a tube (not shown) to lead the treated vapor to the place of its use.

VProvision for varying the strength of the vapor created in and drawn through furnace I9 is made by means of holes provided in the top plate I5 on each side of the furnace, in which cylinders 1I, opening into chamber I8, are secured, through which air is adapted to pass to relieve suction created in said chamber by fan 31. The upper end of each cylinder is partially closed, forming an off-center opening 16. A Valve 12 comprising a cap seated on the upper end of each cylinder, has a hole 13 therein which may be brought into partial or complete registry with holes 1D in the end of cylinder 1I by rotation. A manually-operable pulley 14 is rotatably mounted on top plate I5 by means of a screw 15 or the like adjacent cylinders 1I. A belt indicated at 16 is looped around each of valves 12 and pulley 14 to convey rotary motion from said pulley to each of said valves, thereby enabling simultaneous operation of the valves.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a practical device in which any of a series of medicinal liquids or other medicaments may be agitated by a thoroughly-cleaned vapor `generated by the combustion of mineral and vegetable matter to create curative vapors which may be used individually or combined in any suitable proportion to provide the most healing blend.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a Ydry vapor producing apparatus, the combination of a base, a compartment supported above said base, a series of circular bosses on the bottom of said compartment, medicators removably secured to said bosses, and a plurality of valve-controlled conduit-passages within said compartment connecting said medicators with:

a mixing receptacle.

2. In a dry vapor producing apparatus, the combination of a compartment divided into a plurality of passages, said compartment having a floor which also forms the floor of said passages, a purifier contained in one of said passages, a plurality of circular bosses downwardly extending from the floor of said compartment, a medicator removably secured to each of said bosses, a mixing container connected by said passages with each of said medicators, a heating element within said mixing container, and means to direct vapor through said purifier into any of said medicators, and thence into said mixing container.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a compartment, a furnace supported in said compartment, a vapor purifier suspended from said compartment, passages connecting said furnace with said purifier, a plurality of downwardly extending annular bosses on the underside of said compartments, a medicator suspended from each of said bosses, a manifold within said compartment connecting said purifier with said medicators, a valve for the inlet opening in each medicator, a conduit from each of said medicators to a mixing receptacle, a heating element within said mixing receptacle, and means to cause Vapor from said furnace to flow through said apparatus.

4. In a vapor producing apparatus, the combination of a base, a compartment supported on said base, a furnace in said compartment, a series of circular bosses on the bottom of said compartment, a pluralityv of medicators suspended from said bosses, a plurality of valve-controlled conduit passages within said compartment connecting said furnace with said medicators and said medicators with a mixing receptacle, and a heating element within said mixing receptacle.

ALFRED H. B-ROBERTS. 

